The Pretties, The Halfways, and The Uglies
by Kayla Daughter of Thanatos
Summary: My name is Grace Taylor. There are 3 groups in our school, The Uglies, The Pretties and the Halfways, I'm a Halfway. The leaders of The Pretties are Percy and Annabeth. No one knows the leaders of the Uglies, no one know s the Uglies except he Pretties. The Uglies and The Pretties hate each other. But no one knows why. Until now, when I found out. Everyone you know isn't mine.
1. Prolouge

**I'm looking for a beta, I need grammatical help with run-ons and fragments. Read my other story, The Abused Duo. Please review, even if it's just to say, 'This Sucks', I don't mind flames.**

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There's three groups at my elite boarding school, The Pretties, The Halfways and The Uglies. The Pretties are a small group who keep to themselves, no one knows much about them. I'm a Halfway, not ugly but not pretty, I'm close to the bottom of the Halfways, The Pretties leave us alone but bother the Uglies. The Uglies are those who aren't pretty.

I thought The Pretties were just airheaded, shallow people, lead by the wonderful Miss Annabeth Chase and her perfect boyfriend Mr. Perseus "Percy" Jackson. I guess I was wrong, there was more to them, why The Uglies were outcasts, why they were so good looking and why The Halfways were ignored. Percy and Annabeth weren't just shallow people, they had a whole lot more to them. Of course, at the beginning of the story I didn't know this. I thought they were just rude, ignorant, wealthy, and shallow people.

The Pretties consisted of a small group, smaller than The Halfways and The Uglies. Percy and Annabeth of course, Percy's cousins Thalia and Nico. Then some other people, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Silena, Beckendorf and Sammy, just to name a few. Leo and Sammy were twins, identical twins, but Leo was more into mechanical things while Sammy loved the 40's and making mischief. Reyna was Jason's ex and Leo's current girlfriend, Piper was Jason's girlfriend. Sammy was Hazel's ex and Frank was Hazel's current boyfriend. Silena and Beckendorf had been dating forever. Thalia, Nico and Sammy were the only currently single ones.

The Halfways were most of the school. About 75%, we were the ones who hadn't got on The Pretties bad side, mostly Annabeth, or were just kind of pretty. There wasn't much about us, we were mixed ethnicities and different kinds of semi-attractive. We all just went from class to class, chatting among ourselves, trying not to stand out or get in the way of The Pretties.

The Uglies were a different story, some of them really were ugly while others were actually pretty. The difference between The Uglies and the rest of the groups was, The Uglies weren't really a group. They were just kind of random people here and there. You couldn't tell an ugly from the rest of us, unless you were a pretty of course. No one knew for certain how The Pretties knew who The Uglies were. No one knew how many uglies there were, if there were, a hundred, five or if there were only two because only the pretties knew.

This story is about how I found out how The Pretties, The Halfways and The Uglies came to be. Why there was such a rift between the two groups? No one knew, except for The Pretties, and soon to be... Me. People never switched groups, it's as if they knew if they were a pretty or an ugly, if they were confused, chances are, they were a halfway. Enough of that, it's time I tell the story of how the three groups were destroyed. And, how I discovered how this came about.

My name is Grace Taylor. I have long, blonde, wavy hair with natural red highlights and big blue eyes. I have a sprinkling of freckles across my face and thin lips. I'm not super pretty but I'm not ugly. Or at least, that's what my school thinks. I think I'm not bad looking, I'm a sophmore and I have a boyfriend. I like to party, a lot, though I've never drank. My boyfriend's name is Anthony MaGargee, he's a Halfway too. He found out with me.

He has chocolate brown eyes, a mixed complexion and curly black hair. He's better looking than me and always has girls all over him. What I love about him is that he ignores them. Yes ,I'm very jealous and possessive, so I've spied on him before, he's trustworthy. That's the only reason why I let him in on the secret, that and he's a whole lot smarter than me.


	2. The Basic Layout

**Alright, I'm looking for a beta for this story and my other story, The Abused Duo, read it!**

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**(Grace POV)**

I woke up in my dorm room. It was painted my favorite color, a light cerulean blue. I had a couple posters, my taste in music varied from Sleeping With the Sirens and Black Veil Brides to Justin Timberlake and Rihanna. I looked like a walking disaster in the morning before I put on my makeup, my roommate however was a beautiful girl with distinct Cherokee features. It was just my luck I was stuck with a pretty. I checked the time and saw it was 7:00. I opened the heavy curtains to allow light in, not because I liked it but because it annoyed Piper, my roommate.

Annoying her probably wasn't the best idea, you know, getting on the bad side of a pretty, and an important one. I liked to cause trouble so it didn't really matter to me, especially not now, since I didn't know anything. When all the curtains were opened she immediately groaned.

"Gra-a-a-ace!" she moaned. I smirked and strutted my private bathroom.

Once in there I took a shower and then, I put my makeup on. Preferring to go with a scene look that day. My blonde hair was already in choppy layers so I fluffed it with hair volumizer and hair, straightened the tips, made my bangs and I put temporary bright red and black dye in it. I made my makeup a bright red color with bold black. I had red eyeshadow and red lipstick and black eyeliner with wings. I had fake long eyelashes on black mascara on them.

I had a walk in closet on the side of the bathroom. I went in there and took out my black skinny jeans and paired them with a black crop top with red writing that looked like blood that said Shut Up and Die. I had a bunch of black bracelets, some band bracelets, some just random black ones. I finally slipped on my red vans and walked out.

I was wild and crazy in my style, Piper on the other hand was very cautious. She had on a light blue blazer with a light pink blouse, she also had a dark blue fancy messenger bag which had her books. She wore capri length faded cuffed jeans and pink heels. We looked each other up and down, seeing our varied styles. Piper nodded, seeing that my outfit was alright, no rips or tears. I did the same, we weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination. We were just both nice and wanted to make sure we looked nice. Unless we were partners for a project, this was the only interaction we had all day. I grabbed my my bright red over-the-shoulder tote and headed out.

My first class of the day was AP Geometry. Despite what many in my school thought, I actually didn't mind school. I dreaded waking up early, but since it was a boarding school we didn't have to wake up as early as most people to get to school at eight. I was actually kind of smart, I never failed and my average was about a B+. I wanted to go into something in the science and math field. I never skipped a class and I actually enjoyed first period.

I went into the classroom. I read what was on the board and opened my textbook to the correct page. I read the page and took notes on it. I was bored so I decided to text Anthony. The notes literally took 5 minutes and the teacher was preoccupied with something on his computer. I wasn't _that _ interested in math to ask what we should do. I also didn't wanna get moved to The Uglies by the pretties in my class.

Anthony and I texted about the date he wanted to take me on that afternoon. I told him I wanted to meet during 3rd period which was when I had Study Hall. Anthony rarely ever showed up for a full class so it wasn't a problem for him. We texted about what we were doing in class and then the teacher finally came off the computer. We only had five minutes left so everyone was talking or texting. The bell rung and we all trudged off to our next class.

We all had a language 2nd period. I took Spanish because I thought it would be the easiest. I was wrong, I hated Spanish with burning passion. I turned in my half completed homework and the teacher gave me a stern glance which I shrugged off. There was only one seat in the back of the classroom, which I wanted. I walked back there, thankful that I hadn't decided on heels. Quickly, right as I had gotten there a pretty took my seat. You could always tell a pretty from the rest of us. First, they had a similar sense of style, second, they had a smug look on their face, thirdly, they all had a small pin on their sweater vest/blazers/polos.

I took the seat in front of him. Ignoring the prickling feeling on the back of my neck, saying he was watching me. I opened my textbook and stared at the mess of foreign words swimming in front of my eyes. How the heck was I ever supposed to remember this stuff!? I stared at the teacher with a bored look on my face. The teacher was a bit scared of me seeing as I had perfected my scene look over the ages. Finally after a class of tuning out it was over.

Finally, I was going to see Anthony. I walked into classroom 1-35 and saw my wonderfully perfect boyfriend sitting in the classroom looking very bored. I walked over to him calmly even though I felt like dashing into his arms. He heard my footsteps and I waved at him. He waved back and I hurried my footsteps to get a seat next to him. This was the only class I had with him except for lunch. We sat and chatted for the entire period and snuck kisses which wasn't very effective because of my bright red lipstick.

Then I went to British History which was the most boring class so I pretty much fell asleep. Lunch was as good as always. I was really hungry because I had skipped breakfast because I had taken too long with my outfit. I got a stromboli with a caesar salad and a Sprite. Anthony got the same thing except with a Pepsi and no salad. My best friend Lexi got salad, saltines and seltzer water, she was on some kind of weird diet, trying to lose 5 pounds.

After lunch we always had our electives. I took drama and art. On Wednesdays I had PE which I was unhappy about because that meant I would have to wear drab waterproof makeup. I didn't take swimming, indoor track or basketball because I preferred exercising in the all girls gym in the basement of the girls dorms because I could wear just a sports bra and yoga pants. Drama was really fun because Lexi took it with me and I had art with my other friend Maura.

I went back to my dorm and did my homework then I took off my makeup, after I went down to the gym and worked out for an hour. I got ready for my date with Anthony preferring to go with a more casual look. Dark Blue skinny jeans, a purple shirt with a smiley face on it and dark blue heels and normal wavy blonde hair.

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**(Annabeth POV)**

I woke up and 5:45 and got into my tank top and yoga pants. I slipped into the elevator and went down to the gym. I realized that taking the elevator ruined the point but I shrugged it off. I worked out for about an hour and then went back upstairs, this time using the stairs. I trudged back into the dorm and nodded to my best friend, Thalia. Who had just woken up, at 6:45, to do her makeup and who knows what else.

I went into my bathroom and frowned at the purplish-blue bags underneath my eyes. My frizzy hair was weighed down by perspiration. I jumped in the shower, letting the hot water refresh me. I got out and marveled at the French or Italian designs that made this bathroom look elegant. The full wall mirror was a big help but the double sinks served no purpose seeing as each dorm was equipped with two bathrooms, two walk-in-closets and even had a mini bar/kitchen. I walked into my closet, bored by the monotony of my clothes' colors.

I decided on a pale yellow skirt that stopped a few inches above the knee and a pale pink ruffled blouse with beige heels. I straightened my frizzy hair to perfection leaving the ends with a little curl. I put on my make up to look as natural as possible and headed out the door wobbling a little unused to the new height. I sat on my bed and put my books in my oversized shoulder purse. Thalia came out of the bathroom dressed in similar garb but in darker shades.

She was wearing a black skirt a bit shorter than mine with a light blue polo and black stiletto heels about 5 inches high, how she could walk in them was a mystery. I smiled at Thalia and she smirked back.

"Let's go, preppy princess." She teased.

"I'm not a princess!" I whined, angry that she would even try to say that I was shallow.

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow, "The price tags that I see in the trash tell me otherwise."

"As if your clothes don't cost as much!" I shot back.

"Someone's feeling witty today!" Thalia teased. I sighed knowing this would never end if we kept going.

I walked across the covered walkway to the school. On one side of the school were the girls dorms and on the other side were the boys dorms. I opened the fancy glass doors and walked in. Noticing Luke among the people parting the way, I shot him a glare. I saw Percy standing on the other side, I ran towards him. I linked him arm in mine and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No PDA!" Complained Thalia, suddenly standing right next to me.

She moved in between me and Percy, separating our arms. I rolled my eyes at my friend's childish antics. I checked my phone, seeing that it was only 7:20. I dragged Percy away from our annoying friend. We went to classroom 1-36 it was never used but the janitors kept it clean just in case, it was the old English classroom but since the recession many students dropped out and there was less need for as many classrooms.

I pulled Percy close to me and my lips met his with burning passion. A frenzy of well placed kisses and lustful moans was the only thing on my mind at the moment.

"Oh, eww, really guys? We were supposed to meet here and you guys end up making out." Percy's cousin Nico was standing at the door, complaining as always.

I rolled my eyes but hesitantly removed my swollen lips from Percy's. I smirked at Nico and gave Percy a quick peck on the lips. Nico childishly covered his eyes and I yet again rolled my eyes at his antics. It was about 7:35 so I left Nico and Percy to talk about whatever boys talk about and I went back to Thalia who was flirting with some boy. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away, ignoring her complaints. I dragged her to our lockers and she reluctantly took her books and headed to American Lit. while I went to AP Geometry.

I hated the class, it wasn't just that the class was overrun with Halfways, it was that the teacher was awful. I was trying to be an architect so I needed some background with math and shapes, right? I wasn't getting it, I would most likely have to take the class in college.

The crazy girl who changed her style pretty much everyday was standing in the front of the classroom, scanning the room for a seat, we locked eyes. Disgust and annoyance were clear in her eyes. Luckily she took one far away from me. I hated her, I didn't know her but her sense of style and her overconfidence annoyed me. I preferred to stay with the others of my class, who actually knew what I went through and didn't just think I was a stupid, shallow person.

That class was soon over and I had to go to French, it was my favorite language. I took the class with Piper, who was much better at French than I was. We did some listening exercises and did some writing along with taking notes. I then went to 3rd period which was History, the teacher just made us watch a movie and take notes, at the end she gave a short lecture on the topic. Then I went with Piper to lunch.

I sat with Percy, Thalia, Nico, Piper and Jason. We were the so called 'elite' of The Pretties. Piper and Jason talked amongst themselves about some date they were going on and chuckled at past ones. Thalia, Percy and Nico started shooting spitballs at some Uglies until I told them to stop. Pretty much we all ate the same thing. We all had a slice of pizza and a soda. Percy had Orange Fanta, Nico and Thalia had Pepsi, Jason and Piper and Coca-Cola and I had diet Mountain Dew. Piper and I had salads also though.

My 4th period was Study Hall so I did all my homework that I had that evening so I could spend my free time with my friends. 5th and 6th period were electives so I took art and music history. On Thursdays I had double PE, like most girls I preferred to work out in the private gym instead of in an actual gymnasium.

I went back to my room and did my homework, by that time it was about 6:45 so I went to the gym and worked out for an hour, at 8 o'clock I took a shower and washed my face. Then Thalia came back from wherever she was and we talked until about 9:30


	3. The Date, The New Friend, and The Start

**(Grace POV) **

I walked from the dorms to the main patio, hoping to find Anthony there. The patio was covered in a modern asymmetrical awning but was plain concrete with off white synthetic wood tables. There were bushes outlining the area and made the patio look less devoid of life.

Technically I wasn't allowed to be here, but if anyone but the principal caught me here there would be no problems.

I stood there, shivering in the breeze, it was the beginning of the school year, September, so it wasn't too cold but occasionally there was a heavy breeze.

I peered into my oversized tote, but couldn't see anything due to the rapidly ceasing light. I grabbed my phone out of the outside, zippered pocket and turned on the flashlight, easily accessible with iOS 7. I found my compounded, faux leather jacket and shrugged it on.

It brought me no comfort, the jacket was thin and would only heat up after minutes of wear, but at least it blocked me from the wind.

I pulled out my beanie and slipped it on. Fashionable but useful, I covered my ears and looked cute.

I checked my phone, there was pretty much no light outside and the principal would be coming around to do his rounds. We didn't have to be in our dorms until 10 but we couldn't be loitering around, we could leave campus as a sophomore.

Finally Anthony showed up, looking freshly showered and sheepish, at least in this light, which was practically none. "

Um, what took you so long?" I demanded, "Do you see this outfit? This is not an, 'OMG, I'm gonna wear a beanie and leather jacket outfit!' this is an, 'OMG, my boyfriend's late and it's kind of cold!' outfit." I exploded.

"Geez, you're so touchy today. Is it that time of the month?" He asked cheekily.

My eyes blazed, "For your information it is not, 'that time of the month'" I lowered my voice, "I was just really cold, okay?" I said, hoping he could hear the pleading in my voice.

"Ok, sorry, I was at the gym, I got carried away, you know how I get." I nodded, understanding his problem. "So can we go now?" He inquired.

"Sure, yeah, where are we going?" I asked.

"Just to the diner down the street, I couldn't get someone to drive us." He said, sounding truly disappointed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, we have to be back by 10!" I said, trying to cheer him up.

It worked, a smile broke out on his chiseled face. I walked over and linked my hand with his, looking up at him and kissing his cheek. We walked along, hand in hand, him towering over me by 6 inches, standing at 6'.

"You know, it always annoyed me that you were taller, not that I want to be taller than you I just don't like being so short. You make me feel short." I pouted, "I think we should break up, the height difference is just something I can't look past." I said sincerely.

"You're not serious!" He exclaimed. I nodded, showing how sincere I was. "After dating for almost a whole year? And you're breaking up with me over a height difference. Honestly I never thought you were this shallow!" He took his hand from mine, running it through his messy curls.

I rolled my eyes. Surprised he fell for it so easily. "I was joking, I won't go there again, obviously breaking up is a sore point for you, sorry. I didn't know it would affect you so much." I said, trying to see whether he was mad or not.

"Ha!" He laughed, the short outburst surprising me, "You fell for it too, I guess my acting classes are finally paying off, huh?"

I shook my head with silent laughter, "Yep, they are!" I finally looked away from his chocolate orbs to look at the bright lights coming towards us.

Anthony picked up the pace, walking a bit faster, eager not to waste our precious time as it was already 7:30. I struggled to keep up in my heels, silently cursing myself for not thinking of wearing more comfortable shoes.

When we finally trudged into the quaint diner at the edge of the blaring light of the town, we were hit with a pleasant scent of hot cocoa.

"I'm paying." I announced, hoping he wouldn't argue with me.

"I already told you, it's my month to pay for dates." He spat back.

"But, we never go on dates during my month, you always have stuff to do. Plus I have a ton of money to blow from my birthday, I might as well spend it on something worthwhile." I argued, knowing he would give in.

His shoulders fell and his face loosened, knowing I had won this battle. I smiled triumphantly, leaning up to kiss him.

We walked up to the worn down podium, smiling at the 60-something year old waitress. "Hey Andy, hey Grace! Your regular table and regular food?" She asked.

"Our regular table but I want to try something different." I stated, looking at Anthony for confirmation.

I saw the answer I had been hoping for in his facial expression, I never got how people saw emotion in other people's eyes, eyes were expressionless, what happened around them was what matter.

We went to our table, not hidden in the shadows but not in the light, it was a small corner table with an amber casing over the bulb.

Instead of ordering my normal chocolate chip pancakes I decided to actually order a dinner food and went with the baked and fried chicken dish but got my raspberry lemonade , Anthony, as usual got his bacon burger and cookies & cream milkshake.

While we waited we started up a conversation, "So, how's Ginna?" Ginna was his sister who had cerebral palsy, she could speak but she couldn't walk, she was a lot of fun though.

"Oh, last time I saw her she was great, her speech gets better and better every therapy lesson. She wanted me to tell her she got the message and she says yes." He repeated.

"YESSS!" I mouthed, fist pumping.

Anthony chuckled. "So what was the message?" He inquired.

"Oh, you know girl stuff..." I trailed off, knowing that he would be more curious than before.

"What kind of girl stuff?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, a feat I was never able to accomplish.

"Oh you know.." I giggled, twirling my hair around my finger, "Stuff..." I giggled again.

"Grace, you know the dumb blonde thing doesn't work, you're smart." He countered.

I smiled, officially changing the subject, "I know but I'm hoping it will work to someone else. Do you have a piece of gum?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"Oh, you know..." I flipped my wavy hair, "For like.." another flip, "Stuff..." Instead of giggling again I burst into full out laughter.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a pack of Trident Watermelon gum. I held it triumphantly like a statue for a few seconds, making Anthony laugh, then I examined the pack, the gum packet wasn't that nasty wet that gum gets in warm temperature and it wasn't ultra hard. I considered putting one in my mouth but the waitress, AKA Lauren, was coming with our drinks.

"Here you go, one cookies & cream milkshake and one raspberry lemonade with two extra cups!" Lauren said in a false perky voice.

"Thanks Laur!" I replied to the 19 year old waitress,

"We've gotta hang out more! When're you free?" I asked.

"Um... I think sometime on Saturday but lemme get back to you on that OK? When I come to pick up the bill? Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine, thanks!" Starting to drink my pinkish red lemonade.

Anthony and I always split our drinks, not drink with two straws from the same cup but from different cups. Drinking from the same cup was kind of disgusting, not to mention that Anthony would drink much faster than me.

I got some of his milkshake and he got some of my lemonade, which seemed completely platonic but we weren't just dating, we were friends too.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying our drinks, until the food came which was relatively soon because the diner tried not to have too much of a wait in between the drink and the food.

"Oh my goodness, this is so good, I mean the baked chicken isn't all dried out or really over fragranced and the fried chicken is just really good, not blah at all." I told my boyfriend.

"Well, you know how my burger tastes." Anthony replied.

"How come, whenever we go out you always seem to get the least healthy food on the menu?" I asked.

"Um... I like burgers?" His reply was more of a question.

"Do you, do you really?" I narrowed my eyes, "Because it doesn't sound that way!" I raised my voice to the maximum 'indoor' volume.

Anthony raised his head towards the ceiling in silent question, 'Why, why me?' I jokingly glared at him and he glared back until I broke eye contact, unable to hold in my laughter.

Dinner went on this way until we finished our meals, teasing each other and giving each other small pecks, on the cheek of course.

When I finally checked the time I saw it was 9:43. "Oh my goodness, we've gotta get out of here, it's almost curfew!"

Actually, the school gates closed at 10 but you had to be in your dorm and the lights off by 12 am.

I frantically combed through my tote bag to find my wallet, snapping at Anthony when he tapped my shoulder.

"What! Will you stop tapping me... oh" I blushed, noticing my red wallet in his hand, "Thanks!" I said, guilt evident on my face.

I took out the money and paid the bill, scrawling out my number for Lauren on the receipt. I grabbed Anthony's hand and half ran half walked out of the restaurant.

I paused for a moment to switch from the heels I was wearing to a pair of Toms I had in my purse.

"Man, your purse has everything!" Anthony exclaimed.

"Yeah, I always keep emergency stuff in here, I have a bra and underwear, a faux leather jacket, a thin long sleeve shirt, yoga pants, a hat and vans... oh and a hair brush and hair tie and all the other purse-y stuff." I explained, "You can never be too cautious." I said.

"Actually you can, like overprotective parents." Anthony argued.

"I meant in terms of what is in my bag." I rolled my eyes.

It was getting harder to see, I turned back to Anthony, I could barely see his lean silhouette, "Race you!" I shouted, taking off.

I had the head start but Anthony had the advantage of longer legs. I was on the track team, but of course I was a sprinter, my best was the 200m.

I failed, Anthony won, us both panting for a moment. I smiled at him and held out my arm.

"Good race, MaGargee." I said, through pants.

"The same to you, Taylor." I laughed, it was breathy, I still hadn't recovered.

"Well, I got to run, see you tomorrow?" I asked. "

Yeah, see you Grace." He leaned down to kiss me, and I pulled away quickly, not wanting to miss curfew.

I ran back to my room, seeing Piper was back from her date. Her hair curled with a plain blue v-neck long sleeve shirt and white capri's with red Toms.

I changed into my pajamas, and saw Piper in hers, Cherokee Eagles on hers and mine a plain navy blue with purple designs.

I asked, "Can you help me with History? I need to remember the dates."

"Sure!" She replied in her perky voice.

We studied until 11:30 and decided to get to bed. I realized that Piper was actually really nice and that she would be one of my friends if she wasn't a Pretty.

"How come there are the groups in the school?" I blurted out as the night dragged on.

Piper stiffened beside me, wrinkles appearing on smooth forehead. In a strained voice she replied, "It's getting late." She glanced at her watch, "We should get to bed, we need sleep too if we're going to ace the test, huh?" She laughed.

She seemed to look anywhere but me, her laughed seeming fake.

I trudged over to my bed, resting my head on the pillow, Piper turned out the lights.

"Look, Grace, I know none of this makes sense, it probably never will, all I'm going to say is to stay out of it. It's complicated, if they find out you're trying to figure it out then you will be put into The Uglies. All I'm going to tell you is that there's a lot more to us then it seems. Even Annabeth, she's really smart and she's had a hard past." She advised, "Annabeth will find out you're trying to find the answer before you know it. Especially if she doesn't like you, and trust me, she think's you're going to be trouble, I would lay down on the style radar for a while, just fit in, OK?" She responded.

I nodded, then I realized she couldn't see me, "Yeah, I understand." Piper was silent, I eventually fell asleep but I was wary of what the secret of the school was.

* * *

I woke up that morning with the question hanging over my head. I swore there was a question mark over my head.

I marched into my bathroom, not acknowledging Piper who was already wide awake and doing her weird yoga in the morning ritual.

I took a shower but just blow dried and brushed my hair, leaving it in it's natural waves. I put on a purple graphic tee and black sparkly ripped skinny jeans with red adidas high tops and red beats around my neck. I came out with a quizzical look on my face, wondering if this was 'normal' enough for Piper. Piper just shook her head and pulled me into my closet to change my clothes.

"You need to wear a plain tee shirt and plain blue jeans, do you have that?" She said while rifling through my closet, frowning at some articles while a small grin creeped on her face for others.

"Remind me after school to help you get your 'Annabeth approved outfit'" She said it like she didn't like Annabeth.

"Don't you like Annabeth? I thought you two were best friends." I said.

"We are. I doesn't mean I agree with everything she does, that's how I know what she approves of or not, if it wasn't for her I would wear jeans and high tops everyday." She stated.

I nodded showing I understood. I changed into the clothes she picked out for me. It was a bit more muted then normal but it was at least my style. Lastly she took my hair and fixed it into a fishtail braid over my shoulder.

I smiled at her and then left the room and building to get to school.

"Hey, you look different." Anthony commented, "More... hm... muted." He examined.

"Yeah, apparently I'm on Annabeth's 'radar', perks of having a pretty for a roommate. Especially one of Annabeth's best friends." I said.

"Ah... Yeah, I never thought the boys would be big about this pretty thing but Leo is all out with it. It's weird, like, I thought that was a girl thing." Anthony said.

I smacked his chest, "That's so sexist!" I shouted, my mouth open in surprise and my hand on my hips.

"Sexist but true." Anthony commented, trying to get me mad.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." I walked away from Anthony without looking back, trying to get to my extremely boring classes.

* * *

When I got back to the room at 3:10, Piper was already there and ready to go in sweatpants and an oversized sports tee.

"C'mon, we've got closets to clean!" She shouted good naturally. I smiled at her carefree manner and joined her in my closet.

She threw half my clothes into the middle of my closet, me arguing a few times about pieces of clothing I really loved like my indie band tee shirts and a few of my short, daring black dresses. She only let me keep my long dresses, plain t-shirts, unripped jeans, skirts, silver and gold jewelry and shorts.

"I'll be dressing you every morning!" She teased.

For the second time that day I found myself wondering how things would be different if Piper wasn't a Pretty, or a new thought, if I was a Pretty also.

Life would be different, that was for sure. Piper had to go, and I had to do homework but she promised when she came back we would talk.

"Like friends?" I asked, seeking confirmation.

"Like friends." She confirmed.

We smiled at each other, I think that was the moment when I became truly curious about The Pretties.

Why they were so remote, so isolated, so... different.

It wasn't arrogance, no unlike their name suggests, The Pretties never seemed like they thought they were better than us. It was almost like they never thought to communicate with 'The Halfways'.

We just never had occurred to them as people to actually talk to, more of just people who were there, they just coexisted with The Pretties.

They were all connected somehow. And that was the information I wanted to know. There was nothing in my way, nothing except a stupid school hierarchy system. But how would that affect my plans? That I was to find out.


	4. The Meeting, The Betrayal, and The Lies

**Friday**

**Annabeth POV**

I woke up that morning to the sounds of a hair dryer. I groaned and turned my head. I heard the hair dryer turn off and I breathed in a sigh of relief, but it was short lasting. About five seconds later Thalia was hitting me with a pillow.

"Thalia!" I shouted, "leave me alone, you know I was out late yesterday!"

"Yeah, what were you doing with my kelp headed cousin?"

I opened my eyes to see Thalia wiggling her eyebrows. I groaned and rolled over, off my pillow, and threw the pillow at her.

I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and trudged to the bathroom. I took a shower and then walked into the closet.

I sleepily pulled out a white strapless dress with small roses, a black blazer and a pair of black flats. Our school had virtually no dress code, just that you couldn't wear heels over 5 in., you couldn't walk shirtless, and you couldn't wear sandals until April.

Back in the bathroom I curled my hair, pulling a black plastic head band over my curls. I dabbed on a bit of concealer and foundation and put on some mascara and eos sweet mint lip balm.

I tucked the eos into my blazer pocket and walked out of my bathroom to observe what Thalia was wearing.

She had on a polkadotted spaghetti strapped shirt that would be a crop top if it wasn't for the high waisted leather skirt she was wearing. She paired it with a studded leather jacket and black Jeffrey Campbell heeled boots. Just to finish the look she had left her hair in it's natural black waves, though the end was dyed a bright red and hung at her waist, and painted her lips a bright red, it looked good on her.

"Thalia, love the outfit!" I complimented, "I wish I could pull off something like that."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "I've told you a million times you could, though I don't know how much Percy would like you after that. I think he likes your style."

"I don't know about that."

"I do!"

"That's what you think."

"You're right, it is what I think, and what I know"

"I'm gonna take the high road and leave this conversation."

Thalia shrugged like she couldn't care less, which was probably true. We exited the room with our bags at our sides.

We walked down to the lobby and each grabbed a pastry, I grabbed strawberry and Thalia grabbed a chocolate.

We walked over to the school and I noticed how cold it had gotten recently, "Did you notice how cold it is?"

"No, unlike you I'm actually warm blooded, my body heats right up."

I hit Thalia's arm and glared at her, I started running, hoping to get my blood pumping. Once I was about halfway down the walkway I stopped, allowing Thalia to catch up. She was trying to run in her heeled boots and kept on almost falling.

I laughed at her struggles and kept on walking. I looked back a few times and saw that Thalia had given up on running and was just walking.

I went to my locker, but didn't see Percy. I wasn't worried about it, he was probably hanging out with Leo and Jason, or swimming laps, often times he got carried away.

I went to the pool just to check up on him, I was afraid that if he missed more classes he would get an in-school suspension. As it turns out he wasn't in the pool, but if that clock was right, I was going to be late for AP Geometry which was conveniently placed on the other side of the building.

Of course, this is what I get for being a kind and selfless person, a tardy!

I ran to the other side of the school, hoping to avoid teachers, luck finally decided to help me and I made it to my locker without a hitch, I grabbed my books and my bag.

Once inside the classroom I looked at the clock, I had made it there with about 50 seconds to spare. The teacher, though she couldn't teach, was a stickler for homework and being on time.

I laid my homework in the top right corner of the desk where it was supposed to be, if it wasn't there we'd only get half credit.

I saw that girl, Grace, as Piper had informed me. She wasn't doing her crazy style any more, which I was thankful for. She was wearing a white shirt with the definition of weirdo on it. She had blue jeans, black converse and nerd/hipster glasses perched on her naturally wavy blonde hair. Her makeup was actually really good, she had a smoky eye and lip gloss.

I turned away, paying attention to what the teacher had written on the board. We had to read and take notes on a couple of pages and then do a few problems on the theory.

That class went by in a blur and so did the next few, before I knew it the day was over and I was heading back to my dormitory.

When I got there I saw that a ton of people were in my room, thanks to Thalia. I saw that Nico, Percy, Jason, Piper, Sammy, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Leo, Silena, Beckendorf and of course Thalia.

"Um... Thals?" I questioned, "What're all these people doing here?"

"I told you already!" I gave her a quizzical look, "Or maybe I forgot, but that's not the point, all these people are here because we're planning our party for next Saturday. You know, guard duty, drinks, snacks, housing et cetera, the list goes on."

I nodded slowly, "Well, I'm gonna go change okay? I'll be right back."

I went into my closet and pulled out a comfy pair of Lululemon yoga pants and a Lululemon blue tank top. I traded my flats for a pair of moccasins and walked out. We dressed to impress at school and elsewhere but here, near the other Pretties, I could dress comfortably.

I sat next to Percy and waited for Thalia to speak, "So we need to make sure no one gets too crazy and that we have enough food and drinks so that no one thinks the party's lame and the right music and lighting and stuff."

I spoke up, "So Leo, Sammy and Beckendorf, since you three are good with lighting and music and that type of thing, could you take care of that?"

They all nodded, "And... since we're planning the party I'm assuming someone's parents are gone?"

"Yeah, mine." Piper said, I wasn't surprised, her dad was always filming and her mom was always modeling or taking vacation.

"And... You have a central sound system?" Piper nodded at that.

"So, Percy, Silena and Thalia, you guys good with drinks? It needs to be the best first party of the year."

" Yeah, we're cool with that." And some other mumbles said.

"Reyna do you mind if we both take care of advertising? I mean the party has to get out there somehow."

"As long as we're not using posters, which is tacky, I'm in. We can't have any teachers or the principal finding out there's going to be alcohol." She looked at all of us, "There is going to be alcohol right?"

Percy and Silena looked at Thalia and the rest of us followed suit, "Why're you all looking at me?"

"It was your idea for the party and you are the expert at hosting parties. So is there gonna be alcohol or not?" Leo asks

"Um... guys seriously think about it, we're 'The Pretties', it's the first party of the year and I'm hosting it."

There was a collective 'Oh', after that I felt pretty dumb but I shrugged it off.

"So, back on the subject. Who hasn't gotten a job?"

Jason, Hazel, Frank and Nico raised their hands. I thought of something for Nico and Hazel to do since I knew what Frank and Jason should do.

"Frank, Jason, you should be security, is that okay?" I asked, they nodded, "I mean it would just be for the beginning of the night."

"Hazel and Nico, I think you should..." I trailed off, thankfully, Thalia came up with something.

"You know what, since you two are all... whatever, you two are in charge of decorations."

Nico rolled his eyes and Hazel gave a soft and polite laugh.

"Well if that's all, I kind of want to finish up my homework before this weekend." I said, walking back to my bed.

Percy captured me in a hug, "Wise girl, you're always so uptight, c'mon, live a little."

I placed my hands on my hips, "I have lived a lot, thank you very much. At least longer than you have." I continued my journey.

"You know what I mean."

"Out, out, out, everybody out, that includes you Percy." I paused, "You know what, you too Thalia!"

"You realize this is my room too, right?" she said.

"Well go find your boyfriend of the day!"

"Actually we've been dating for a month." She placed her hands over her heart, "It hurts me that you don't pay attention to my love life Annabeth."

"I stopped keeping track after number, hm... 45 was it? Now stop sidetracking and go to the gym or something."

Thalia looked devastated, it was obviously her plan to sidetrack me, "Whatever, I have to get changed first though. But you're right, I haven't been in forever."

Thalia trudged into the bathroom and I gave a sigh of relief. I loved my best friend but sometimes I needed time alone.

I pulled my laptop from the nightstand and started typing an essay for french class, with the help of the textbook and google translate of course.

* * *

**Friday**

**Silena POV**

That morning I woke up and went into the bathroom, ignoring Reyna. We didn't get along well, she thought I was some dumb fashionista (For the record, I'm not) and I thought she was a stuck up brat (on the other hand she was).

I took a long shower and went into my closet to choose an outfit. I picked out a royal blue, strapless, belted jumpsuit and black flats. I wore jumpsuits when I couldn't think of anything better to wear.

I went into the bathroom, my blue eyes were bloodshot and my hair was a mess. I run a brush through my hair and try to make it look nice, I don't succeed so I curl it, the curls won't hold but they'll make my hair look okay.

I wash my face with the special soap one more time and start putting on my makeup, foundation and concealer as needed. I put black eyeliner, blue eyeshadow, mascara and dark pink lipstick on.

I come out to get my bag and find the half finished homework still laying on my nightstand. I groan and collapse back on my bed.

"Too lazy to finish your homework, huh?" Reyna's snarky voice doesn't help my problem. I turn to face her, "Go away."

"Is that the best you can come up with?" I'm about to respond but she starts up again, "You're right that is the best. Considering you're, well, you."

"Reyna, you can just stop y'know." I say, rolling my eyes.

She's wearing a blue cardigan that becomes a deeper blue, with a pink crop top underneath. She has a simple pair of blue jeans and bright blue UGGs, her eyes were lined in black khol, giving her an even more mysterious vibe and her hair was done in a side plait.

"I know I can, but I won't"

"Reyna, we're roommates, we might as well make the best of it." I rationalized.

Reyna froze on her way to the door, her bag falling off her shoulder, "You actually said something moderately smart. Maybe I was wrong about you."

"You were." I stated simply, "See you in AP American Lit." I picked up my bag and strutted out the door. I used the alternate exit, the one without the lady giving out breakfast. I wasn't anorexic but I never ate breakfast.

I went to find Charlie, who was, as always, standing at his locker. I walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He turned, "Hey Lena."

"Hey, I've gotta go talk to Annabeth, but I'll talk to you later." I lied. I was actually going to go talk to another student named Lindsay, she was an Ugly.

I walked down the halls until I came to the 2nd Cafeteria. Lindsay was there, standing in the corner, her dark skin melting into the background.

She smiled when she saw me, "What did you find out? My parents are kind of anxious."

"You told your parents!" An expression of disbelief formed.

"Uh, yeah. They're the ones who started this whole thing, didn't you know?"

"Right..." I stared into Lindsay's brown eyes, she nervously smoothed down her short, black hair.

"Well listen, I don't really want to get all this extra stuff. It's going to get way too complicated. What did you bring me here for anyway?"

She handed me a packet, "I want you to put these on after school and when your group of Pretties meet." She said 'Pretties' like it was a poison, "It has a small listening device, my dad supplied it, he said he needs more information on the 'children's weaknesses'."

"Okay, today at about 5:30 we're having a meeting about a party we're hosting next week Saturday, you'll probably learn some not so crucial facts, like whose parents are going to be gone and other boring stuff."

"Alright, lets get to our classes."

We walked away, making sure to go out opposite doors at different times. I walked to my first class, Geometry. She was a great and supportive teacher.

After that I had AP French which went by in a blur, listening exercises and a test. All my other classes went by in a blur until I got to AP American Lit., where I saw Reyna.

I took the seat right next to her, "So you weren't lying, huh?"

"Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I don't know, maybe it's those big, innocent blue eyes that you give to every teacher." She raised an eyebrow, "How'd it go with your Biology homework?"

I turned away from her, "That's my business."

"Ha, you got away with it. I knew it, can't take the pain like the rest of us, can you?"

I stiffened, then took a deep breath and shook my head. The teacher started the lesson, well really the presentation that we had to take notes on.

Reyna didn't attempt to talk to me for the rest of the class, which I was happy about. I went to lunch and ate a caesar salad and some Coca Cola. We chatted until we had to go back to our last two classes and those flew by.

When I got back into the dorm I crashed onto my bed, tired, from the whole week at school. I fell asleep right away, waking up at about 5 p.m..

* * *

I stand in front of the mirror. Blue eyes stare back at me.

"You're doing the right thing." I'm lying to myself, it's not gonna work.

I turn away from the mirror and step into my closet, I pick a short white skirt with black criss-crossing lines and a denim button down crop top. I put on a pair of denim stilettos and swipe on some lip gloss.

I pulled my silver necklace on and the matching earrings, these were the spying devices, and I hid the symbol on the necklace but the earrings were just big, thick hoops.

The symbol on the necklace was a simple circle with 3 spikes, but inside the circle was a black recording device.

I walked to Thalia's room, hoping Charlie was already there. He made me feel good, even though I knew I didn't deserve it.

As it turns out Charlie was there, I sat next to him, leaning on him a bit. He slid his arm around my shoulder and we sat to listen to the constant bickering, sorry, decision making.

After the meeting I kissed Charlie goodbye and went out the door. I didn't tell Reyna where I was going because she really didn't need to know.

I headed to the floor below mine, which happened to be Piper's floor. I stopped at door 3-16. This door belonged to Hailey and Lindsay, twin sisters, they were identical.

"Hey, come on in. Lindsay isn't here right now, but she should be back in a few minutes."

In my opinion Hailey was much prettier than Lindsay, even though they were identical, Hailey always had a smile on her face and was optimistic.

Not to say, Lindsay was pessimistic, she just was more of a realist who saw that things were bad for her and she had to work to make it better.

"So, Lindsay was listening in on the conversation, huh?"

"Yeah, I told her not to, but she did anyway. What information are you going to glean from a party conference anyway?"

"Interesting choice of words. Yeah, I mean maybe something was useful to her though."

"You guys talk about me?" Lindsay's cool voice interrupted.

We nodded sheepishly, "Well, I got some information, our dad wants us to scout the layout of the house, since Frank and Jason are just security for the beginning and make sure that no 'Uglies' get in we can sneak in later, and the whole house sound system should help if we ever need to freak them out."

I had to agree with her, "Who's going to scout the house though?"

"Don't worry Party Girl, we've got some of our friends on it."

"Good, I gotta go before Reyna gets suspicious." They nodded their goodbyes to me and I slipped out of the room. I went to go up the steps and saw Reyna, standing there, looking completely annoyed.

"What were you doing down there? Don't tell me you were with Piper because I asked her, she said you weren't there."

"You do realize that Piper pretty much hates you for having Jason before her right?"

"Yes, but we're on better terms now. She would tell me if you were there."

"Alright, I'll tell you where I was." I paused, "I was visiting Drew, she's an Ugly but she's still my half sister."

Reyna nodded, "Can you let me go up the stairs then?", Reyna nodded again.

I went by, finally getting to my room, that I sadly shared with Reyna. I went into the bathroom to change out of my clothes into a pair of loose shorts and a plain t-shirt.

I sat on my bed and tried to finished my homework. Geometry blended into AP Lit. which blended into Biology. I gave up and fell asleep with my homework scattered around me.

* * *

**Hey guys, if anyone actually reads this story. Review please. I don't mind flames, I'm in desperate need of a Beta, for this story and the other one. **


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